TRAGEDY GIRLS REVIEW

Tragedy Girls, a twist on the slasher genre following two death-obsessed teenage girls who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small mid-western town into a frenzy and cement their legacy as modern horror legends.

Starring: Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandria Shipp, Kevin Durand, and Nicky Whelan

Directed by: Tyler MacIntyre

Written by: Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre, and Justin Olson

  High schoolers Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) and McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) are completely obsessed with trying to grow their Tragedy Girls social media accounts. They were hoping that following the case of the serial killer named Lowell (Kevin Durand) would get them some follows. However, they soon decide that Lowell just wasn’t cutting it anymore, and took over as the star killers in town. Their social media accounts get plenty of hits, but is “Tragedy Girls” a hit as well? 

  It doesn’t take long to see that this is going to be a fun movie. With a little plot twist to start, Sadie and McKayla quickly display they’re a perfect match. The best friends are clever in both their conversations, and plans to murder their soon to be victims. While their characters aren’t great roles models by any stretch of the imagination, their desire for a bigger social media following will certainly be relatable to many in the audience. 

  Don’t think for a minute that just because they’re teens that the kills won’t be bloody. While their plans are good, they aren’t always executed perfectly. This leaves for plenty of blood splattering scenes like in the school shop room. The girls prove to be well versed in killing, disposing of bodies, and cleaning up all while having little boundaries. 

  Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp really do an excellent job in their roles. They pull off the times when they need to be average teens, and are definitely great when the killing begins. While the focus is obviously on them, don’t sleep on Kevin’s performance. He proves to be the perfect choice as the serial killer. Someone the audience can believe is a mean killer, but also make mistakes along the way. Also making an appearance in a little more serious of a role than expected is Craig Robinson, who plays Big Al.

  Audiences should enjoy “Tragedy Girls” because it provides a great tandem of female leads along with a nice mix of horror and comedy. The story is well played out from the small twist at the beginning to the motivation behind their madness at the end. There is plenty of blood and guts, and strong acting performances all around. Ultimately, it may seem like watching a modern version of “Scream.” With that, I would follow, and “Like” “Tragedy Girls” on social media, and give it 4 pools of blood.

  HorrO 

*Shown at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival*

SIGHTS & SOUNDS FROM THE POPCORN FRIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL

The 3rd annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival promised to be bigger, bolder, and bloodier and boy did they deliver! The festival experienced many sell out screenings, and topped ticket sales from last year! Horror fans were treated to 46 films over 7 days, including the North American premieres of “Jackals,” and “The Bride,” and the Florida premieres of “Mayhem,” and “Tragedy Girls” amongst others. Popcorn Frights also hosted its inaugural Homegrown: 100% Pure Fresh Squeezed Florida Horror program. Directors, writers, and actors attended the festival like Joe Lynch, Graham Skipper, Brandon Christensen, and Jeremy Gardner. PromoteHorror.com, as a proud sponsor of the festival, was there to witness it all, and now wants to share some of it with you. Below are pictures, and videos shot over the course of the week, including many of the Q&As. Enjoy…

Also check out these great recaps of the festival from our friends at TrueHorror.net 

Recap 1      Recap 2

ANNABELLE CREATION REVIEW

Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.

Starring: Stephanie Sigman, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson, and Anthony LaPaglia

Directed by: David F. Sandberg 

Written by: Gary Dauberman

  Marvel has created one of the best universes going right now with their superhero movies. Not long ago, Universal announced the return of their monster icons in what they’re calling the Dark Universe. And then there’s The Conjuring Universe that is somewhat quietly coming out from the shadows. A third Conjuring movie is on its way, along with “The Nun,” but first Annabelle gets a second chance to win over horror fans.

  With a title like “Annabelle Creation” the audience might expect to see a lot about her creation. However, after seeing dollmaker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) put the final touches on Annabelle, there isn’t much Annabelle backstory until the end. Instead the audience sees the tragedy that happens to the Mullins family, and then years later how they provide a home to some foster girls. It gets the movie off to kind of a slow start, as the girls have to be introduced, and get settled in. It isn’t until Janice (Talitha Bateman), a young physically challenged girl, finds Annabelle that things pick up.

  Being apart of The Conjuring Universe, the scares start happening the way the audience might expect. First Annabelle might appear here and there, and then something in the darkness sets its sights on freaking out the girls. Besides Janice, her best friend Linda (Lulu Wilson) has some run-ins with Annabelle. In one of the better scares, she’s shooting a ball into a dark hallway, and pulling it back with a string. Well, it’s not hard to imagine how creepy that scene can be. 

  The intensity of the scares really kick in when the demon reveals itself, and its intentions with the girls. Also, the story of how the demon attached itself to Annabelle is finally divulged. It might be obvious to some after events earlier in the movie. However, that’s not the interesting part. When the dust settles, the true connection between “Annabelle” and “Annabelle Creation” is revealed, and it puts a nice punctuation on the movie. 

  Before wrapping this up, I have to make a point about Annabelle. After seeing Annabelle in “The Conjuring,” I was instantly drawn in, and wanted to know more about her. However, after two movies my interest in her has greatly diminished. Why…well because after it’s said and done she’s just a creepy looking doll. She doesn’t really do anything other than show up here and there. The demon is the true evil force here, and the one creating the real scares. She’s pretty much the opposite of Chucky, and in the end that’s disappointing.

  Going back to the movie itself, it’s easy to see how “Annabelle Creation” fits into The Conjuring Universe. It has the same feel to it, and the scares are effective, but done in an expected manner. The demon eventually makes itself known and does its best to scare the girls, and the more importantly the audience. There’s usually some strong acting performances, and this time it’s courtesy of the Talitha and Lulu. While “Annabelle” might not have knocked the socks off fans, it seems “Annabelle Creation” might win over more fans this time around. With that said, I give it 3 pools of blood. 

HorrO

*There are after credits scenes so stay to the very end*

DARK TOWER REVIEW

The Last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil collide in the ultimate battle only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor

Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel

Written by: Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, Anders Thomas Jensen, and Nikolaj Arcel

  Not that he went anywhere, but it looks like Stephen King is making a come back. The T.V. show ‘The Mist’ has been running for over a month now, and of course the highly anticipated remake of “IT” is not far away. Sandwiched in between is “The Dark Tower,” based on one of King’s longer novels. While this movie doesn’t cover the whole novel, it introduces audiences to this strange universe King created.

  And an introduction it is. While they fill the audience in on some things, it almost feels like something is missing from both the story, and the characters involved. The story follows a young boy, Jack Chambers (Tom Taylor), and the visions he has been having. He’s sure his visions are real regardless of the disbelief from the people around him. He draws things in his visions like the Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba). 

  One of the visions gives the audience background on Roland, in his last battle along side his father. Both of them have been in a long battle with the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), but that’s the only past battle that’s shown. With Roland having so much hate for him, it would have been nice to see more of their history. As for the Man in Black, they could have given the audience more information on his rise to power, and why he’s so determined to make the Tower fall. 

  Even though it would have been good to know more about these characters, they’re still pretty good at what they do. The Man in Black can make almost anyone do what he wants. He walks past people acting all cool, gives a simple command, and they do it. It also makes him pretty intimidating. Being a Gunslinger, it’s obvious what Roland is good at. While watching him shoot is good, it might be even better watching some of the ways he reloads.

  Too bad it seems the audience doesn’t get enough of them. As mentioned, they don’t show much of them in the past, and limited interaction between them until the final scene. Going into the movie, it felt like there would be plenty of action, but there isn’t anything spectacular until the end. While the story follows Jack, maybe there would’ve been more action if it followed Roland. Then it could have covered the backstory better, and had more action in their world. Jack comes from the real world, and nothing much happens there early on. There's some decent humor when they return to the real world, but this isn't a comedy.

  For those who haven’t read the novel, like myself, maybe it leaves you a little lost. It just felt like there should be more to this story. Being a long novel, it’s easy to understand them leaving stuff out, but it truly felt like they should have covered more. If they spent more time in the other world then maybe they could have covered more things. It would have made more sense, and definitely could’ve provided more action especially between Roland and the Man in Black. However, for those who read the novel, maybe it made enough sense, and therefore they did right by the story. Either way, I give “The Dark Tower” 2 pools of blood.

  HorrO